Researchers at the University of Arkansas have found that truck drivers at more than 75% of trucking companies are dissatisfied with the per-mile paying method because they're not assigned enough miles to earn acceptable pay.

"It's not that drivers are not paid enough per mile," says study co-author Nina Gupta, a professor of management at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville. "It's the total number of miles that's a problem."

The study, which surveyed 326 trucking companies nationwide, found that many drivers are frustrated because they don't have control over the number of miles they drive.

"Because they're paid by the mile, they want to keep rolling," she says. "They don't like it when they're hundreds of miles from home, waiting for a new assignment."

Known as the pay-per-piece-made in manufacturing, the pay-per-mile-driven method is less necessary as satellite and other two-way communication systems are becoming increasingly prevalent, says study co-author John Delery, also a professor of management at the University of Arkansas.

"An hourly, monthly or yearly pay will provide a consistent paycheck," he says. "This could mean less stressful drivers and greater retention rates for companies."

Currently, the overwhelming majority of truckload companies use the pay-per-mile method -- 85%, according to the study titled "Motor Carrier Effectiveness" -- whereas the majority of less-than-truckload carriers, 62.5%, use an hourly system. The findings are not surprising, as LTLs typically make shorter trips.

Addressing truckers' compensation method could solve two major problems currently afflicting the trucking industry: extremely high turnover rate -- often higher than 100% annually, according to the American Trucking Associations -- and the national truck driver shortage, Delery says.

However, companies are not likely to abandon the per-mile system so quickly.

"Shippers pay us by the mile, so there's no other way for us to pay our drivers," says J Reesor, president of truckload company GoTrans.

Pay-per-mile is the only method that makes sense for long-haul carriers, companies say. Paying truck drivers an hourly rate is unthinkable for some, since there's no income from the client when the brakes are on.

"To pay drivers when they're stuck in traffic would be like paying for a (stopped) taxicab whose meter is running," says Mike Hopper, CFO of Ozark Motor Lines, Inc.

Hopper rarely hears drivers complain they're not getting enough miles as there's always "readily available freight" to haul, he says. Ozark's truckers drive, on average, 2,600 miles per week and are paid $.36-$.42 per mile. These figures translate into a gross pay of over $50,000 per year, plus benefits.

Carriers that haul freight within a limited radius, such as Ronzo Transportation Services, swear by the hourly paying method.

Working at a local carrier often means driving to Cordova and back to Memphis on a daily basis.

"Pennies-per-mile simply wouldn't add up," Hagerty says.

Delery and Gupta say the per-mile system isn't necessarily obsolete, but is problematic in the trucking industry, because employees don't have control over their performance. In other words, the incentive given per piece produced in a plant means employees may produce as many pieces as they wish in order to increase their pay. By law, truck drivers can't drive as many miles as they wish per day, and the company decides how far they drive based on clients' requests.